OUTSIDE THE HEARD - JULY 2015

Pete TownshendClassic QuadropheniaDeutsche Grammophon

Classic Quadrophenia is a new symphonized version of The Who's classic 1973 rock opera, orchestrated by Rachel Fuller – a professional composer, orchestrator and singer-songwriter in her own right. Classic Quadrophenia was recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2014 at London’s legendary Air Studios, conducted by Robert Ziegler, and featuring popular Decca-signed British tenor Alfie Boe on vocals, with Townshend himself on electric guitar and performing cameo vocal roles along with special guest vocals from Billy Idol and Phil Daniels.

Twin Danger Twin DangerDecca Records

Noir jazz meets midnight blues in the music of Twin Danger -- an intriguing new group formed by Vanessa Bley and Stuart Matthewman. Twin Danger updates a classic sound in a contemporary style with such captivating Bley / Matthewman originals as “Pointless Satisfaction,” “Just Because,” “Sailor,” and “Coldest Kind of Heart.” The album sessions also yielded one surprising cover song, a distinctively different interpretation of “No One Knows” by Queens of the Stone Age. “We’re making music to get lost in,” says Bley. “It’s warm and beautiful but there are dark undercurrents revealing fundamental issues of the self. That’s what makes it Twin Danger.”

LindemannSkills in PillsWarner Bros

Albums like this don’t come along often: violent, visceral and courageous, Skills In Pills – the debut from Lindemann – is a listening experience like no other. This album was never meant to happen… Rather, it was supposed to be a throwaway collaboration between two debauched pals – Till Lindemann (Rammstein) and Peter Tägtgren (Pain / Hypocrisy) – on a bender. Instead Skills In Pills is one of the most gripping releases of the year – and the darkest. Thanks to the Rammstein singer’s often hilarious, sometimes utterly filthy lyrics, plus Tägtgren’s super-modern studio skills and instrumentation, it’s a set of 10 songs like no other.

T. Hardy Morris – the Athens, GA based songwriter best known for his contributions to Diamond Rugs and his own band, Dead Confederate – follows up his gorgeous solo debut, Audition Tapes, with Hardy & The Hardknocks: Drownin On A Mountain Top. “If Audition Tapes was a high and lonesome mellow-roast with musical touchstones like Harvest-era Neil and driving down a windy backroad alone,” writes Patterson Hood of Drive By Truckers, “Drownin On A Mountaintop blasts out of the garage like some high-octane muscle car full of friends, blasting Mott The Hoople on the way to the last-call dive bar.” With its strangely complimentary mix of rollicking lo-fi southern rock pedal steel twang, run through a grunge punk buzzsaw with Morris’ snarling yet tuneful vocals serving as the sharp end of the blade, Drownin is just as introspective as its predecessor – just a lot louder.

Ike ReillyBorn On FireRock Ridge Music

Libertyville, IL native Ike Reilly is one of America’s best contemporary songwriters. The former gravedigger and hotel doorman’s new album, Born On Fire, captures a songwriter at his best, and a band nimble enough to serve a diverse group of songs that required both recklessness and finesse. The songs on Born On Fire traverse R&B, punk, blues, folk, and rock & roll but are wholly original. Reilly uses humor to combat despair as his songs tell tales of love, lust, struggle, drugs, drinking and the underdog. Reilly’s longtime friend and Assassination guitar player Phil Karnats (Secret Machines, Polyphonic Spree) worked with Reilly and the band on production and the result is a group of rock & roll songs that sound like they could have been made somewhere between the mid ’60s and the early 2050’s.

Various Paper Towns - SoundtrackAtlantic

Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green (The Fault In Our Stars), Paper Towns is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one. After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears - leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving. The soundtrack is pretty exhilarating, too, with contributions from The Mountain Goats, The War On Drugs, Twin Shadow, Grouplove, and more.

COINCOINColumbia

COIN proudly calls itself a "product of the '90s." Though a borrowed nostalgia for the decade that isn't uncommon among Nashvillians, COIN hasn't adopted the detached smugness, angst, ironic rock n' roll posturing, or the odes to the joys of slackerdom. often associated with '90s alt acts (or their subsequent revivals). Instead, lead singer, keyboardist, and lyricist Chase Lawrence opts for earnest songs about actual human emotions: falling in (and out of) love, worrying about the future, and missing the past. It's the same brand of wide-eyed sincerity found on Pet Sounds just replace the Theremin with a Micro Korg and the harpsichord with guitarist Joe Memmel's crisp Telecaster lines.

BullyFeels LikeColumbia

Alicia Bognanno's songs trade in steely observations, raw-nerve confessions, and intense anger directed almost exclusively at herself, although a few bystanders and bad exes might get caught in the crossfire. Her voice rises from sugar-sweet to scratchy howl as she bares her most harrowing fears to the world. Bully is the perfect distillation of frontwoman Bognanno's visceral approach to songwriting. Not merely the band's vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, and all-around visionary, she is also Bully's producer and engineer. The churning guitars, rambunctious rhythms, and tightly coiled intensity of Feels Like, Bully’s debut long-player, perfectly pairs all those big feels with some serious 90s indie rock action – you know: back when guitars would set us all free and cat photos were for ringer tees. Play LOUD!

Wolf AliceMy Love Is CoolRCA Records

London-based four-piece Wolf Alice have finally dropped their much-anticipated (and fantastically-titled) debut, My Love Is Cool. Produced by Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Black Keys), My Love Is Cool is a remarkable leap forward from the band's EP Creature Songs, released last year. The group’s multi-page musical palette embraces everything from ethereal electronics and lithe, lush melodies to buzzing distortion and towering feedback, propulsive drums, and lyrics that play out like adult fairy tales – especially on “Moaning Lisa Smile” and the breathtaking “Bros.” My Love Is Cool is a striking sonic patchwork that’s quickly established the London quartet as your next musical obsession.

Walk Off The Earth Sing It All AwayColumbia

Sing It All Away is the new album from Walk Off The Earth, and is the follow up to the band s 2013 album R.E.V.O., which marked them as an inventive force to be reckoned with, hitting the Billboard Top Albums chart, launching the #1 Triple A single "Red Hands," and selling out two headline tours worldwide. The platinum Canadian quintet had already established a significant global following when their cover of Gotye's "Somebody I Used To Know," ignited the blogosphere, eventually garnering 164 million views, and landing the band a recording contract with Columbia Records. Sing It All Away’s lead single, "Rule The World," is an infectious song that includes bombastic instrumentation to go with its uplifting chant, and is just a hint of more boundless musical surprises contained in the album.

Chaos Delivery MachineBurn Motherfucker BurnHardline Entertainment

Hermosa Beach, CA based trio, Chaos Delivery Machine, has released an album that has taken an exhausting and life-threatening journey of over 8 years to complete. Created by former 98 Mute bandmates Jason Page (guitarist / music) and Justin Thirsk (throat / drummer / words), whose older brother, Jason Thirsk (R.I.P.), was the founding member and former lyricist/bassist of Pennywise. The lineup is rounded out by Pennywise co-founder and guitarist Fletcher Dragge (co-throat / bass / producer). Burn Motherfucker Burn they hope “your mind and soul and every fiber of your being along with the rest of this sick and pitiful world will [burn] immediately after the first listen.” And you can dance to it!

Little BootsWorking GirlDim Mak

Working Girl is a brilliantly intoxicating sonic story that places Little Boots (aka Victoria Hesketh) back at the forefront of dance-pop music. Over the course of 11 songs, Working Girl takes you on a spacious, spooked-out, empowering journey, that takes in contemporary house and garage sounds, as well gloriously infectious slices of minimal R&B, widescreen pop and disco gems. A conceptually-driven album, Working Girl contemplates our hyper-active, paranoid and posturing modern world, punctuated with massive dancefloor beats. The title is also a wry nod to the 1989 film of the same name (see the tongue-in-cheek visual nods to early-90s yuppie couture that comprise the album's aesthetic). Also “Better In The Morning” is the soundtrack to yr next Walk of Shame.

The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a group of some of the best independent music stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995; its current membership is made up of 29 accounts that handle 47 stores in 21 states. Many of the accounts have been recognized by the music industry and their local communities for their outstanding dedication to customer service and developing artist support.

Each member is bound by its shared love of music, a reputation for great selection and customer service in its community, yet each CIMS account is as unique as the market it represents. Most importantly, CIMS member stores continually seek to challenge the jaded, color-by-numbers advertising and marketing of other retailers.